Legacy of Erebor
by Stratagem
Summary: What do you do when you reclaim a kingdom? Repopulate, of course! Follows the mini-adventures of the Company and their children, a motley crew of cookie-stealing, ankle-biting, axe-wielding, adventure-seeking dwarflings as the kiddos explore the halls of Erebor and attempt to get in more trouble than their progenitors. Also features a lot of family togetherness. Post-BOTFA AU.


**Disclaimer**: I don't own The Hobbit. :) That'd be sort of awesome, though, I'd loooove that!

**A/N: **There are so many sad post-BOTFA stories (though they are lovely!), I thought I'd try my hand at a happier one. :) Or at least a mostly happier one were people survive! And I love writing about kids (it's basically become a reoccurring theme in my fanfic writing…), so this sort of evolved from wanting to see what might happen after an AU!BOTFA; this will basically be a bunch of short stories about the kids of the Company members. YAY KIDS! And I knooow I need to be writing on my other fics, but this wouldn't leave me alone, so I had to write it! Expect updates of the others very soon!

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**Legacy of Erebor**

Hurs was a dignified citizen of the realm. He worked in the massive kitchens of Erebor, where there were stoves as large as cave trolls and fire pits that could hold three cows over them and kettles that might as well be bathtubs. While Master Bombur ran the kitchens, Hurs was in charge of the creation of particularly desired delectables, or in other words, the sweets. And what sweet they were! Candied nuts, cakes dripping with frosting, crisp fruits drenched in exotic chocolate, pastries that melted in your mouth. Hurs knew all the secrets of sugar, butter and creams, and he was happiest when he was designing some new, gravity-defying cake or spun-sugar sculpture.

But one thing he couldn't abide by was sticky little fingers and grabby hands anywhere near his sweets until they were served. Master Bombur might welcome dwarrows in the kitchen and ply them with bread and tidbits of meat, but Hurs was an artist. He wanted his creations served properly on platters, displayed beautifully for all to see, not crammed into a dwarrow's mouth with both fists.

That's why two determined and skilled sweet-snatchers drove him mad on a regular basis.

"Thieves!" Hurs yelled as he waved a wooden spoon. "Burglars! Come back here!"

The pair of dwarflings dashed away from the sweets-master, their little boots moving hastily through halls of Erebor. They knew from previous experience that Hors couldn't come after them, not quickly at any rate, thanks to old war injuries. That didn't mean he wouldn't send others after them, though, and there were a number of swift dwarves in the kitchens that they intended to avoid.

They rounded a corner at a breakneck speed, and the smaller of the two, a tiny girl with untamed, ridiculously thick, dark brown hair, stumbled as her foot caught on an intricate carving in the stone floor. Her bright green eyes went wide, and she yelped and flung her hand out to her older cousin. "Frerin!"

He immediately caught her and pulled her up, tossing a grin at her over his shoulder. "Watch your feet!" Frerin had wavy red-gold hair the color of gleaming copper; today, like usual, some of it was pulled back by a pair of braids that framed his face but the rest was left free to act as a wild mane about his head. "You all right?" His eyes were the same deep shade of blue as his tunic, and they danced as his younger cousin grinned back at him and nodded. Good, and she'd even managed to keep hold of her bag. Tugging her along, Frerin started running again. "Be careful, Aya."

"M'tryin'!"

The dwarrows raced along the corridors, skirting around adults, darting between columns and flying along bridges. Erebor was a playground as well as a kingdom to the two children, and they both knew exactly where they were going on this particular adventure. Exploring their mountain home was an almost daily duty for them and their group of friends, so they knew more about the nooks and crannies and paths of the kingdom than some of their elders.

Aya, though younger, was especially skilled when it came to remembering her way around the kingdom; unfortunately, Frerin had inherited their great-uncle's less keen sense of direction, but he still managed to navigate the kingdom expertly. Outside of the mountain, however, was another matter entirely…

Managing to avoid any pursuing kitchen staff and overly curious adults, the two dwarrows stole into an empty room where there was a big table. It was a meeting room, but when no one was in it, which was often, the oaken table with its surrounding massive wooden chairs made a fantastic fort. Maybe not as good as the forts that they made in their family hall, with lots of blankets and shields and the furniture all pressed around and their adads hiding out with them, but this was decent for a den of thieves.

The two of them darted under the table and sat down side by side, leaning against one of the main supports of the table. They grinned at each other before starting to unload their bags. Hearty, sugary, cream-filled goodies began to pile up around them, a tantalizing temptation that neither of them had been able to resist. Truly, if Hurs had been a little less tight-fisted with his wares, they wouldn't have to resort to such base measures as thievery. But as Nori often said (which often got him the evil eye from Granna Dis), sometimes you just had to take the initiative and get things for yourself, and the little ones listened well to their elders.

At least some of the time.

"Lookit, Frer, it's a sugarbee," Aya said, holding up a gooey, dripping, bee-shaped pastry with both hands. Thick, dark wildflower honey stuck to her small, pudgy little fingers, coating them as she pulled the bun apart and handed her cousin the larger half, knowing it was his favorite. "Here y'go."

"Many thanks!" Frerin grinned and made a show of biting off a big chunk of the sugarbee, making Aya giggle. It was easy enough to make her laugh; it seemed like she had been a giggly, smiley thing since the day she was born. Of course, there was her other side, but, eh, he could live through her occasional petulant, stubborn fits and get her laughing again.

He popped the rest of the bun into his mouth and surveyed their remaining spoils. It had been a mighty victory, and their triumph would not go unhailed. They couldn't possibly eat all of their bounty, and Tofur, Jori, Darin and Dava would be more appreciative of the victory if they could share in it…

Aya's green eyes were huge as she looked at their stolen sweets, her fingertips dancing across some of them. A slow, naughty grin spread from one of ear to the other as she sat back, determination bold on her face. "Imma eat all it."

"You can't eat all of it. 'sides, I think we should give some away."

Aya's lower lip poked out as she considered his unwanted wisdom. "But…I don't wanna…"

Frerin reached over and tickled her side. "If you ate it all, you'd get a tummy ache, silly. And then Granna would throw a fit! And your da, he'd worry, and then they'd make you eat nasty medicine."

"No!" Aya cried, shaking her head and making her hair fly about, "Don't want no nas'y med'cine."

"Then you can't eat all the sweets."

Aya grumbled and then looked up at him pleadingly. "But some? We eat some, right, Frer?"

"'Course!" He picked up a sugar-glazed slice of apple and held it out to her. Aya was an apple-eating fiend, and her da always said that was Frerin's adad's fault. He had encouraged her apple-eating habit from a young age, always making sure that she got his share since he hated them so much and Granna Dis still insisted on having them around. Aya plucked the piece of candied fruit from his fingers and nibbled on it, her face blissful. For a while, the two of them enjoyed their pastries, picking out their favorites and savoring them while saving some for their small cadre of friends.

Frerin picked up another sugarbee and was about to bite into it when the unmistakable creak of a door opening made him freeze. Aya gave the tiniest of squeaks. Frerin instantly hugged her to him and covered her mouth, worried she might make more noises. She pushed his hand away and glared at him, and he frowned back.

Heavy boots clomped into the room, followed by deep voices talking and laughing, as the dwarrows focused on being invisible. This meeting room was for royal business only, and that meant at least one of these pairs of boots belonged to family, which in turn meant that those boots would belong to someone who had punishing authority.

He and Aya looked at each other, blue eyes meeting green, as the chairs were pulled out from under the table and people began to sit down. Aya's little hands began to sign in _Inglishmek_, the silent tongue of the dwarves.

_What now?_

_Stay quiet and stay still. Maybe they won't be here long._

_Might be here for hours._

_Then we're quiet for hours. Take a nap, little wren._

Aya stuck her tongue out at him, and they both began looking around, assessing the situation by the boots present at the table.

There was a pair of burgundy-tinted boots with curled, pointed toes and golden details, accompanied by a cheerful voice warm with age. Balin. Not so bad. He would give them a light scolding then sit them on his knee and let them nibble their stolen treats.

Beside him was a pair of huge grey boots with iron rivets in them, steel toes and wolf fur around the top. Dwalin. More scary than Balin. Dwalin had a way of looking at you and making you want to quake in your boots, but he also had a soft spot for the two of them. They were good friends with his own children, especially Darin and Dava, and he often had problems when it came to following through on threats of punishment, much to his wife's irritation. That might change when they got older, based on tales their adads told of training with Mister Dwalin, but that seemed very far away right now.

Speaking of their adads, those two pairs of boots happened to be across the table from Balin and Dwalin. Their boots looked alike, but Frerin's adad had a special leather wrap around his that allowed him to store throwing axes. Frerin badly wanted to learn how to use them, but he would have to wait until he was older. Aya's da had simple, functional boots, but they were rather worn out from traveling and scouting. Granna Dis was always hounding him to get new ones, but he refused, saying that he didn't want to break new ones in.

"What_ is_ that smell? It's like…sugarbees. And honey dots. And candied apples," Aya's da muttered, obviously talking exclusively to his brother judging by his whisper. "Tell me you smell it too."

Aya and Frerin glanced at each other, and Frerin cursed his uncle's sharp senses. He could sniff out a honey drenched sweetbun if he was within a hundred yards of it or so Granna swore. She said he was the reason behind both Aya and Frerin's sweet tooth, if such things were hereditary—whatever that meant.

"Smells like Hurs has been here."

"And without leaving anything behind for us, how very inconsiderate." The grin could be heard in his voice. "Maybe we can get something later…"

Frerin's adad laughed quietly. "You and your unmanageable sweet tooth. You're lucky your teeth haven't all rotted out of your mouth."

"It's not that bad!"

There was no more talk of the sugary smell, and the dwarrows relaxed a little. There were a few more pairs of boots in attendance that they weren't as familiar with. Council members, probably, easy enough to connect with the voices and the designs on their clothes.

Two pairs of less distinctive boots were also present, small and unfit for the tunnels, paired with too-long, spindly legs. Humans from Dale, most likely, maybe even King Bard. How humans and elves didn't break their thin little selves just by walking around was a topic of much discussion among the dwarrows of Erebor. Apparently, they were sturdier than they looked.

And then at the head of the table…Gigantic boots, covered in black bear fur and leather straps with ornately etched bronze toes. Uncle Thorin. There were two sides to Uncle Thorin. In private, he would wrestle with them on the floor and let them curl up in his massive cloak and play Kill-the-Giant with him as the Giant, but in public, he didn't want to play. He was King, and they were a Prince and a Princess though they had a hard time acting like they were. They tried for him, though, and in turn he tended to be lenient with them. But he really didn't like it when they took things without asking. Their adads wouldn't like it either…

The chatter around the table died down, and it seemed like the smell of the stolen sweets was getting stronger. Silently, Frerin started to pick up the goodies and stash them back in the cloth bags, hoping the thick honey and sugar smells would go away. No one said anything about it, though, as the grown-ups started talking again, in a solemn way that they did at adult meetings.

Sure enough, one of the humans at the table was Bard, the King of Dale; Frerin and Aya liked him a lot since he was nice and didn't mind them being around, unlike some of the council members. Also, he had a big grey wolfhound named North who was terribly fun to play with. He was big enough that Aya and Frerin could ride him like a pony, and they gave him treats from the table in return.

Unfortunately, the talk was all of dull adult things, like trade routes and the River Running and how they were building some tower things in Dale. One day, Frerin would probably have to sit in on meetings like this. How he dreaded that!

Eventually the fear of being caught was overtaken by complete boredom. Aya crawled away from Frerin and laid down on her stomach on the cool floor, resting her head on her folded arms as she watched her da's active feet. He had never been good at sitting still, and right now he was alternating between jiggling one foot that rested on the opposite knee then silently tapping both feet on the ground. After a while, Aya's head fell to the side as sleep won her over. Frerin smirked as he looked over at her. While a wild thing of energy while she was awake, she could sleep anywhere; once she had nodded off in the rafters over Uncle Thorin's forge, when they had climbed up there to spy on him while he worked. Frerin had tried to catch her when she had rolled over the edge and then, luckily, Uncle Thorin caught both of them when they both tumbled off the beams. The aftermath of that little adventure wasn't exactly fun to remember, but at least they hadn't broken their necks falling from the ceiling.

Aya's head jerked up though when the talking stopped being so serious and solemn and the chairs began to move back from the table. She blinked blearily and sat up, rubbing her eyes and giving Frerin a sleepy smile. They had gotten away with it. Soon they'd be able to get out of here and finish off the sweets. If Hurs mentioned something to their parents, well, there wouldn't be any way for him to prove it was really them. Not really…

Frerin waved at her and then began signing. _Wait until I say so, then we'll go._

_All right._

Aya grinned at him and sat cross-legged, waiting for all of the grown-ups to leave. Some of them were lingering, but most of them were making their way to the door. It creaked open again, making someone mention that it needed to be oiled, and then there was a loud bark. Frerin and Aya looked over to see long furry legs bound into the room and race up to Bard.

"And what do you think you're doing?" the king of the human city asked, "You were meant to stay outside."

North whined, and his tail wagged back and forth before going still. He began to sniff about, and Frerin watched the big black nose move along the stones, coming closer to the table. Frerin reached over and tugged Aya over to him, sliding her across the floor as she hugged her bag of sweets to her chest.

"Come on, North," Bard said, and they heard him snap his fingers. Unfortunately, North didn't obey his master; instead he came under the table and made his way toward them. Covered in shaggy grey fur, he was enormous compared to the two of them. He wagged his tail, happy to see the two dwarflings who were always keen on spoiling him.

Frerin held Aya and tried to think of a way out of this. North was going to give them away—unless he got what he wanted. Sliding Aya to his side, he opened up his bag of sweets and searched for something for the dog. Hadn't there been a fig pastry? Something, anything the dog could have…

"No!" Aya suddenly flailed as North lifted her into the air by taking the back of her sturdy leather belt in his teeth. One of her arms stretched to Frerin while the other reflexively clutched her bag of sweets.

"North, no!" Frerin hissed. He tried to grab Aya but North backed up and then turned, apparently having gotten what he truly came for. He trotted back toward Bard, Aya hanging from his mouth in a small, curled up ball, not unlike a puppy or a kitten. She looked back at Frerin and reached her hand back to him again.

"Frerin!" Aya cried, though she did a good job of saying it quietly. Still, the somewhat frightened look on her face made Frerin's chest swell with protective drive. His cousin needed him!

He immediately scrambled after them, grabbed Aya's hand and tugged. That brought North up short. Thinking it was a game, he pulled back on Aya's belt, making the dwarfling squeak and tighten her grip on her cousin. Frerin set his jaw in determination and hauled on Aya, trying to get North to release her.

"Let go!"

North growled playfully and pulled back on her, unwilling to let his prize go so easily.

Bard's voice came from above the table. "North, what the devil are you doing…"

Frerin glared at the dog and let go of Aya's hands for a quick moment. He reached into his bag and pulled out a pastry, not caring which kind at this point, and he threw it toward the opposite side of the room. Smelling something better to chew on than a dwarrow, he dropped Aya and darted off after the pastry. Frerin snatched Aya's hand and raced out from the table on the other side. Maybe if they ran fast enough, North wouldn't catch them and Bard wouldn't be able to tell who they actually were and they could still escape.

Bard shouted out at them, but they were too busy running to actually listen to him. Frerin made for the door, pulling Aya behind him and hoping her shorter legs could keep up. They dashed past a couple of the councilors, zipped past Balin and darted away from Dwalin as he reached out to grab them. Freedom was almost theirs, and Frerin let out a confident laugh. They were going to make it!

The laugh was cut short when someone caught him under the arms and swung him into the air, startling him into dropping Aya's hand. He kicked his legs back and forth in mid-air and then saw Aya standing beneath him, unwilling to run away without him. "Aya, go!"

Aya gave a quick nod, her lower lip jutting out in a pout. She whipped around and raced right into her adad's knees, bumping them hard enough to make her let go of her bag of pastries.

Before she could recover, Kili reached down, swooped her up and turned her around to face him. He gave her a playfully stern look. "What've you gotten into this time, love?" He was wearing his long coat over normal scouting gear, so he must have been out hunting when he had been called in to the meeting. The only thing signifying his status as a prince of the Line of Durin was the thick silver headpiece sitting cockeyed on his dark-haired head.

"Da!" Aya's face scrunched as if she was about to burst into tears and then she grinned. A big, unashamed, warm grin that only she could pull off in the face of impending punishment. Maybe it was because she was the baby in their family. Or maybe, like Uncle Thorin said, she inherited it from her adad. "We got lots of pastries and eated them."

"Mmm, I couldn't tell at all," Kili said as he settled Aya on his hip and rubbed at her face with the thumb of his free hand, "The sugar coating around your mouth definitely didn't give it away one bit."

The hands holding Frerin gave him a very gentle shake. "Frer, stop kicking, will you?"

Frerin finally stopped trying to wriggle away and glanced back at his adad. Fili had a slight frown on his face as he looked down at his son. His thick golden beard had two braids in it with bronze fastenings to keep them from unraveling, and his gold hair was a mane around his head. He wore multiple braids in his hair with two in front, much like Frerin and Thorin. They meant that they were the direct line of Durin, and they were in line for the throne. Frerin hung his head as he was pulled against his adad's chest, nestled against the dark brown tunic that he favored.

"I'm guessing that you're included in the 'we,' aren't you." It wasn't really a question, more of a statement, and Frerin lifted his head to acknowledge that it wasn't a false one. Fili sighed and shook his head before looking over at Kili. "That'd be the sugary smell from before."

"Hah! I knew I wasn't imagining it!" Kili grinned at Aya, lifting her so he could rest his forehead against hers for a moment. "You literally have little sticky fingers."

She grinned back. "They're yummy fingers."

"Frerin," Fili said. The tone of his voice made Frerin want to squirm down and run off. Instead, he met his adad's eyes. "Where did the treats come from?"

"Kitchens," Frerin said, knowing there was no escape from the questioning.

"Got 'em from Hurs!" Aya chimed in.

"You mean you took them from Hurs, didn't you?" Fili asked, looking over at his tiny niece.

The dark-haired dwarfling shook her head as she twisted a fist into her da's coat. "No. Took 'em from the table."

Kili burst out with a laugh that he quickly smothered. "That's still stealing," he said, trying harder to look serious. "Which is wrong."

Aya made a face and burrowed her head into his coat.

"We wanted to ask, but Hurs always gets mad at us, and he never says yes," Frerin said. Sapphire met tanzanite as he met his adad's gaze. "And we really wanted some. And we're going to share."

"That's a nice idea, Frerin, but they weren't yours to take in the first place," Fili said, "They were Hurs'."

"But he always has extra, and he just throws them away!" It was true, Hurs always threw out any pastries that he didn't think were perfect, which maddened every last dwarfling in Erebor. It was only that Aya and Frerin were bold enough to take action; being a part of the royal line seemed to have that effect on children. "And we would've eaten some of these at dinner anyways."

"Which is why you won't be having dessert at dinner tonight," Fili said, "Or for the rest of the week."

Frerin pulled back, shocked. "Adad!"

"You'll also need to go apologize to Hurs." He let out a sigh. "Your ama is going to throw a fit when she realizes how you've spoiled your dinner."

Frerin slumped and rested his chin on Fili's shoulder, upset by the punishment. "But…"

"Stealing is wrong, Frerin, even if you think it's justified in some way," Fili said, "Or even if it's just something small, like pastries. Because you decided to take something that didn't belong to you, others might have to go without or Hurs will have to do extra work. And you brought your cousin along, and you shouldn't teach her to do mischief. She looks up to you." Fili lifted Frerin's chin and made him look at him. "Do you understand?"

"Yes, adad."

Fili hugged Frerin and kissed his temple before setting him on the ground. "Good lad."

"Only look up 'cause he's bigger," Aya said, her lower lip poking out. She slid her eyes toward her da. "No desserts neither?"

"Nope," Kili said, shaking his head, "You know why?"

"Stealing's bad?"

"That would be correct, my little thief." He pried her off his side and brought her close so he could rub their noses together, an old gesture between them, before he put her on the ground beside Frerin. "Now, go tell Hurs you're really awfully sorry and won't do it again." He roughly ruffled Frerin's hair and then gave both of them a little push. "Now is better than later, trust me."

"Yes, Uncle Kili..."

"Mhmm, Da…"

Dragging their feet, the two of them made their way back down the hallway, leaving the remaining sweets behind them.

Frerin sighed. "Sorry you got in trouble, Aya."

"Don't care," Aya said. She tucked her hand into his and grinned up at him. "Sweets were good."

Frerin smiled and squeezed her hand. "Good."

Behind them, Fili and Kili smirked at each other. Now that the children were gone, they could actually be amused at the situation.

"I'm glad we didn't do things like that when we were little," Kili said with a sly smile.

"Definitely not."

"Never drove Ama to distraction or anything of the sort."

"Of course we didn't," Fili said, shaking his head, "Complete sweethearts, we were."

"We were perfect."

Fili laughed. "Undoubtedly so. Or at least I was."

"Don't be delusional, I was the good one." Kili picked up the bag that Aya had left behind. "Mmm…shame to let all of this go to waste."

Fili frowned and crossed his arms. "We shouldn't."

Kili opened the bag and held it up so he could peek inside. "I think there's a sugarbee in here—"

"Is there now?" Fili stepped closer and reached for the bag.

Before there could be an in-depth investigation, the bag was snatched from Kili's hands. "I seem to remember two very mischievous brothers who ate the entire Durin's Day cake one year. By themselves," Thorin said as he tied a tight knot in the bag. He looked up at his two now-adult nephews, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Something tells me that the younger generation is only following in the steps of their elders, who apparently still haven't learned from their mistakes."

Fili rubbed his face. "Mahal forbid…"

But Kili just grinned. "Let 'em try."

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**A/N:** And there we go! :) I hope you liked it! I think I liked it; I'll probably write more in the future. Singledad!Kili and MarriedwithKid!Fili are fun, and I'd love to look at the kids of the rest of the Company, like the ones mentioned here (Jori, Tofur, Darin and Dava)…so yeah, expect more! ^_^


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